May 24 2019 Luke 8: 40-56

When Jesus heard this, he replied, "Do not fear. Only believe, and she will be saved."

Jesus is in the midst of all of his healing. He’s heading to the house of Jairus, a leader of the synagogue, whose daughter is deathly ill. On the way, a woman who’s been hemorrhaging for 12 years touches the fringe of his clothes and is immediately healed. He continues to Jairus’ house, and the daughter appears dead. Jesus claims he’ll heal her and the people laugh, knowing she’s dead. Of course, she is healed and her parents were astounded. 

I must admit that this makes me a little testy. I have a sick family member, who’s likely sick for the rest of their life. And while I fully believe God could miraculously heal them, I don’t believe it’s as simple as ‘your faith has made you well’. There are millions of people, both at the time of Jesus and since then, that have had deep faith, and were not healed of their infirmities, they were not made well. In a second, I would be that father, running to Jesus begging for his healing power. I have. 

As a matter of fact, there aren’t a lot of stories in Scripture that start the same way – a woman touches his hem, a father implores him to heal his daughter – and end with Jesus continuing on, without healing. That wouldn’t be much of a story. There is a reference that after the feeding of the 5000, Jesus continues on to the next town, despite the waiting unwell.

This reminds me of a class I took where we spent 12 Saturdays learning about the types of illness my family member has. At the end of the class, the teachers brought in a few clients who had similar illnesses, and they talked about their nearly-normal life, their hard days, support from their family, and how, although it wasn’t ideal, it wasn’t as bad as in the beginning. In a way, they were made well.

The problem is that all of the clients who talked to the class did not have the same illness as my family member. As a matter of fact, all of the well-intentioned volunteer teachers were there precisely because of this particular illness, and what they portrayed was significantly less-well. The illness was represented in its infliction on wonderful volunteers, but not the ‘made well’ clients. Rather it showed up in the more defeated teachers. It’s an ugly, insidious disease, with few success stories. The clients with that illness aren’t ever the ones who show up at the end of class, to talk about their journey. 

So what do we do with this? Was Jairus better than the rest?  If I pray harder, if my family member had greater faith, if I never sinned.. What?  

I still believe miracles can happen. Healing can happen. And I do not pin my current hopes on that happening in this illness. So where do we, affected by this illness, and the thousands of other dismal physical and mental health problems, find healing and wellness?  If it’s not in the illness itself, what’s made well?  

Maybe it’s all in my head. Maybe the healing and wellness come with the acceptance of what is. While God could heal, while miraculous cures are possible, I am here now without outwardly visible wellness. How can I be well and whole, not because of miraculous cures, but despite the lack of them? This morning, I will pray harder and have more faith that I can be made well, and be healed, so I can be whole. So I can rid myself of the fear of what's coming next. Regardless of what happens around me.